Hope he doesn’t mind me mentioning this but someone told me he has seen an english language South African TV print of this one. I’d like to get my hands on one…especially after the disappointment with the Sartana box set. Ah well, maybe someone out there has one…guess it’ll probably turn up eventually.

I’ve seen this a few times now (a subtitled, widescreen print from Australia’s sadly defunct SBS TV channel) and it never fails to disappoint.

I agree that the atmosphere is extremely spaghetti-esque - almost to the point of self-parody - and that there are good moments along the way, such as the shots through coloured panes of glass (I thought more should have been made of these), as well as a decent score, but overall the film barely has a pulse.

Alfonso Balcazar was much better as a writer/producer than a director, as this plodding revenge film underlines. It’s slackly paced (others seem to have enjoyed the Russian roulette duels; I found they merely padded out the narrative) and has one of the most cringe-worthy flashbacks I’ve ever seen: a soft-focus reverie in which George Martin’s character remembers his lost love, accompanied by images so trite they could have been ripped from the pages of a Mills & Boon romance.

I’m not dismissing it entirely, however - Gilbert Roland and Jack Elam are as solid as ever, with Elam dressed almost exactly like Frank in Once Upon a Time in the West (I’m not certain of the chronology of production, but Sonora was released in Italy before Leone’s film). The veteran actors are a counterweight to George Martin’s dull hero - he was far more effective as a villain than a leading man, in my opinion.

I like this one despite the truly awful flashback scenes which really don’t fit with the feel of the rest of the film. Martin, Roland and Elam are all on form and there is some good tension, action and interesting visuals. All unusual in an Alfonso Balcazar directed picture. Rosalba Neri’s part seemed illogically small though. She was well known enough by this time to have warranted much more screen time than we get. A shame. But on the whole a good value mid range spaghetti for my money.

It also features one of my favourite rocks from the Fraga region of Aragon. Maybe I should post a screenshot in the Rev’S ‘Favourite Rock’ thread.